Zara Larsson’s third studio album is a fun, breezy listen that will surely put you in a good mood
Upon listening to the first few tracks on Poster Girl, you can tell that Zara Larsson has departed from her ballad-style songs. With this being her third studio album, she went for a fully upbeat and lighthearted tone. Some of her most popular songs have been slower ones, and Poster Girl is anything but. Zara Larsson has provided her listeners with an album that is full of tracks that can get anyone up and dancing around their rooms.
Thematically, the album is sound; each song has its rightful place in the tracklist. Most of the songs are based on love, relationships and feelings overall. The titles of each song, for the most part, give a clear indication of what a listener can expect.
The three singles, “Love Me Land,” “WOW,” and “Talk About Love,” are by far the catchiest songs on the tracklist.
“Love Me Land” has an opening siren that sounds like it’s from a Purge movie, which, compared to the lightheartedness of the rest of the album, seems quite dark. However, once the song’s main melody begins, it fits in with the rest of the album.
“WOW” is a bit of a tongue twister to sing along to because of the constant repetition of words with the overall pacing of the song — although it does make the song quite catchy to listen to. It’s one of those songs that you put on repeat, and before you know it, you’ve listened to it about ten times.
“Talk About Love” is the only song that has a featured artist. Young Thug’s appearance creates a different dynamic to the tone of the song, compared to the rest of the tracks. Larsson proves how sticky her lyrics can be on this track (“I don’t wanna talk about love / I don’t got time to be lying like a rug / Hot as Taki, Kawasaki, I ride it, ride it”). The line always offers a laugh, comparing a popular snack to how hot Larsson is, and uses a seemingly popular snack to emulate how hot the speaker is.
Larsson’s songs are constant hits. They’re not overly complex to understand, and they’re relatable. She is able to convey strong messages about female empowerment across the 12 tracks. Even a song like “Ruin My Life” focuses on the woman’s role within the song and what she wants. Perhaps the song’s lyrics aren’t positive, as she says “I want you to ruin my life / I want you to fuck up my nights,” however, the woman herself is seemingly in control here. The idea is that what an empowered woman looks like can take on many forms.
While Zara Larsson’s songs do discuss some deeper subject matter, some of that gets lost behind the overproduced and upbeat nature of the songs. There are songs that discuss relationships and have poignant messages, but the focus tends to be on the beat, rather than the lyrics.
That being said, Poster Girl is a great album to put you in a better mood. It’s unfortunate that the album doesn’t have much variety in terms of beat and style, which creates a lack of balance for the listener. However, if someone wants a dance-based, upbeat album, then Poster Girl will satisfy them.
Rating: 7/10
